Symbiosis Skills & Open University signed an MOU with
Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council

On 14th November 2017, Symbiosis Skills and Open University (SSOU), the
First Skill University of the State signed an MOU with with Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council
in presence of Dr. Swati Mujumdar, Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis Skills & Open University, Dr. Dhananjay Yedekar, Vice Chancellor SSOU,
Ms Annu Wadhwa – CEO, Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council and Ms Pratibha Dusaj – Deputy Head, B&WSSC.

On 14th November 2017, Symbiosis Skills & Open University (SSOU), the first Skills University of the State signed an MOU with Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council in presence of Dr. Swati Mujumdar, Pro Chancellor, Symbiosis Skills & Open University, Dr. Dhananjay Yedekar, Vice Chancellor SSOU, Ms Annu Wadhwa – CEO, Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council and Ms Pratibha Dusaj – Deputy Head, B&WSSC.

Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council (B&WSSC) is a non-profit organization formed under NSDC to promote skill development in the Beauty & Wellness Industry. Beauty & Wellness sector has a growing market of Rs. 1 trillion but has a shortage of around 6 Lakh manpower. To overcome this shortage, B&WSSC aims to train & certify 16.7 Lakh manpower, train 2200 trainers and accredit 390 training partners in the next 10 years. Beauty and Wellness Sector Skill Council is doing its best for benchmarking Indian beauty and wellness education with international standards.

The main objectives of B&WSSC are conducting Industry and market studies to determine the skill gap in key segments in the Beauty and Wellness industry on an on-going basis, development of occupations/skills catalogue and occupational standards, creating awareness about the Beauty and Wellness industry involving all stakeholders – employers, learners, academia and vocational bodies – in the skill development exercise, accredit/affiliate training providers and certification of learners/workforce, facilitate/conduct training of trainers and training of Assessors, establish/facilitate in-house Training Centers and Centers of Excellence, Set up an effective Labor Market Information System (LMIS), and Benchmark Indian beauty and wellness education with international standards.

Symbiosis Skills & Open University (SSOU) is happy to sign the MOU with the council that is one of the sector skill councils set up by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India. Speaking on the occasion, Annu Wadhwa – CEO, Beauty & Wellness Sector Skill Council revealed how B&W industry is growing and the requirement in terms of quality skilled human resource. Infact, is one of the industries after Health industry, where the quality of training and manpower has to be really good. Otherwise, we are putting at stake the lives of millions of consumers who go to salons or avail home services. There is an element of risk if the services don’t meet quality standards. So, the biggest challenge we are facing today is the shortage and paucity of quality skilled manpower in the sector. The talent deficit poses extreme threat to the growth and expansion of the whole beauty and wellness industry. The aim of the sector skill council is to focus on establishing an effective and efficient eco-system for development and imparting of skills for Beauty and Wellness industry including relevant curriculum courses, information database, delivery system, standardization, and accreditation and certification process to enhance the employability. She said that she was happy to join hands with SSOU which would help in achieving the required goals.

Dr. Swati Mujumdar, Principal Director, Symbiosis Open Education Society enlightened about the major challenges faced by the Indian Wellness domain on the skill development front like, inadequate availability of training infrastructure, standardized training curriculum (especially at the entry level), the absence of quality trainers in sufficient numbers, easier financial access to outcome-linked skills training initiatives, as also a general misplaced notion about the benefits of skill training. We already have ENRICH Salon on board with us as partner who brings in industry insights. We also have a state of the art academy where students get to practice using the most contemporary equipment’s and consumables.

As for the courses and certification, B&WSSC has set national standard with the help of the industry and government. The Sector Skill Council Certificates has been recognized as the highest certifying body by the Government of India. Awareness has been spread among people about recognition of skills from an authorized body and the benefits of it.